Release the Beast
Release the Beast is a tier 6 skill in Krieg's Mania skill tree. Activating his action skill while at critical condition (e.g. when the "!" indicator appears denoting critical health loss) causes Krieg to mutate into a Badass Psycho Mutant. Effects *All of Krieg's health is instantly refilled upon activation of Release the Beast. *+100% melee damage, +50% damage reduction. *Krieg is invulnerable to damage while transforming into the Badass Psycho Mutant. *At the end of Release the Beast, the action skill will be fully cooled down, ready to be used again. Strategy A way to keep Krieg alive with this skill is to refrain from activating it immediately after he reverts to his normal state, instead waiting until he drops back under 33% of his health. This way he will fill up his health immediately, receive the 50% damage reduction and resume with the filled up Action Skill. Skills like Taste of Blood and Blood Trance from the Bloodlust tree, which increase damage resistance during rampage and rampage time respectively, supplement Release the Beast rather well, capitalizing on the almost permanent upkeep of buzz axe rampage allowed by Release the Beast. The Numbed Nerves and Fire Fiend skills from the Hellborn tree will increase both Krieg's damage output and damage resistance even further. In multiplayer, Krieg can act as a tank for the group. If the group has a Siren healer, Krieg can almost indiscriminately pull aggro from enemies. The group can stay in a safe support position and Krieg can draw fire to the sides or behind enemies, away from the group. Redeem the Soul augments both tanking and healing ability for the group. Taking on missions with much higher difficulties can be done this way. The windows for success are small but manageable. Another multiplayer strategy is two or more Kriegs with Release the Beast and Redeem the Soul unlocked. If one Krieg is downed, the other can instantly revive them using Redeem the Soul, and they continue this until both are alive in critical health. Then, the Kriegs can activate Release the Beast, which can allow them to mow through a massive horde of enemies. Should either of them end Release the Beast with critical health, the skill can immediately be used again. If they are downed, the other Krieg(s) will be able to instantly Redeem the Soul once their Release the Beast ends, allowing them to restart the combo. This strategy is very useful in games with multiple Kriegs, as it is extremely difficult for enemies to down both of them without massive damage output, because of the instant restoration of Krieg's health + the 50% damage resistance. Notes *When Release the Beast activates, Krieg's left arm shortens, while his right arm grows. During this animation Krieg is invincible. At the end of Buzz Axe Rampage, his arms return to normal. *One can use Fuel the Rampage and allow allies to damage Krieg's health to critical to trigger Release the Beast. *Upon activating the skill, both of Krieg's voices (his sane, inside voice and his meat-loving outside voice) will deepen. *Occasionally, the game will glitch and not show the animation of Krieg's arms shortening, and Krieg's voice will not deepen. However, the 50% Damage Reduction and the 100% Damage Increase are still applied upon activating at less than 33% Health. This seems to happen more often when the (!) is showing next to the health bar, but not next to the shield bar. *While Krieg is in the final animation where his arms are returning to normal, one can still melee and throw the buzz axe. Getting a kill while doing this may not restore health, however. *If Krieg takes fatal damage and becomes crippled when in Badass form, he can make one more melee attack when the camera briefly changes to third-person angle. This attack can be very helpful given Krieg's melee damage output. He can no longer do this if he has Light the Fuse, however. *The voice deepening effect of Release the Beast applies to Angel's voice modulator, from the story mission The Man Who Would Be Jack. *Release the Beast is a powerful asset if used after a second wind or revive, as Krieg's health will be critical, allowing for an instant transformation and full health. This makes a Tenacity Relic lose utility. *Release the Beast happens in addition to Buzz-Axe Rampage, not instead of it. Krieg receives an additional 100% bonus damage as well as the 500% he would normally have received, along with the 50% damage resistance. *If a player uses Release the Beast, and then immediately spawns and teleports to the driver's seat of a car, upon exiting the car, Krieg will be immune to all damage. This includes shields, the character's health, and even vehicles. The glitch loses effect upon transitioning levels (Fast Travelling, etc.). *The timer does not begin counting down until the animation has ended. *Transport between maps or mounting a car (driver or gunner seat) during Release the Beast will end it without recharging cooldown. *Krieg has additional voice callouts when this skill is ranked which can trigger when his health reaches critical levels, as an additional signal to the player that Release the Beast is available. uk:Розбуди Звіра ru:Выпусти зверя